Sam Graves

MISSOURI's 6th DISTRICT

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sam Graves today celebrated the House passing the Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act. The bill strengthens flood protection programs across Missouri and prioritizes improvements to inland waterway systems. S.612 passed today by a vote of 360-61, and is expected to be signed into law by the President before the end of 2016.

“Northern Missouri has the unique advantage of being surrounded by the two longest rivers in the United States,” Rep. Graves said. “It gives us some of the most fertile agricultural land in the country, and an opportunity for local farmers, manufacturers and small businesses to ship their goods across the world. But it also means our safety and economic wellbeing depend on effective river management.

"I am thrilled that this bill includes authorizations for critical flood protection programs across north Missouri, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law in the coming weeks.”

Graves is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has jurisdiction over this bill, and is the Chairman of its Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

“With the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers surrounding his district, no one has fought harder for this country’s water infrastructure than Sam Graves,” Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster said. “He’s worked to ensure life-saving flood protection for Missouri communities, and he's pushed to improve the maintenance of inland waterways that are critical to farmers and manufacturers across the Midwest. Chairman Graves has earned the reputation as a national leader on river issues, and I thank him for everything he did to help pass this important bill.”

Graves’ district is bordered by approximately 284 miles of the Missouri River on its western and southern boundaries, and more than 100 miles of the Upper Mississippi River on its eastern edge. In addition to providing the resources needed to protect against flooding, this bill invests in port and inland harbor infrastructure that allows Missouri farmers, manufacturers and small businesses to transport goods around the globe.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sam Graves issued the following statement congratulating Atchison County native Blake Hurst on his reelection as President of the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation. Hurst was selected by Farm Bureau delegates on Tuesday to serve his fourth two-year term leading the organization.

“I’ve known Blake my whole life, and I mean it sincerely when I say there is no one better for this position,” Rep. Graves said. “He has done an excellent job the past six years working on behalf of Missouri farmers and our entire ag community, and I know that he has a lot more to accomplish in the job. I congratulate Blake on this excellent honor and wish him continued success over the next two years.”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sam Graves this morning led a roundtable focused on the policy implications of autonomous vehicle technology in America. Graves, the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, welcomed guests from across the industry to take part in the discussion, including under Secretary for Policy at U.S. DOT Blair Anderson, and ATA President & CEO Chris Spear.

“The possibilities for our nation’s surface transportation system are endless over the next decade,” Rep. Graves said. “Autonomous vehicle technology – and the opportunity it presents to make roads safer and highway travel more efficient – is a huge part of that. But policy makers and legislatures across the country must be ready to deal with the regulatory implications of these advancements.”

Among the specific topics addressed at the roundtable, entitled “Getting Smart on Autonomous Vehicles: Opportunities and Challenges for Transportation Transformation,” were NHTSA’s recently-issued guidance document on autonomous vehicles and its impact on future rulemaking processes.

“Today’s roundtable gave us a much needed forum to hear from both public and private sector entities on the progress made – and the impediments to additional growth – in this emerging industry. And given the disruptive nature of this technology, it’s important to consider the diverse interests of all those involved in the process,” Graves continued. “It is a worthwhile and necessary conversation, and it will not be the last one we have in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.”

There are 10,000 known diseases in the world. Somehow, even today, treatment only exists for 500 of those. That is a staggering number, but the House of Representatives and the Senate have been working together to give our healthcare industries the tools to fix it.

Last week, I helped pass the 21st Century Cures Act, a bill that streamlines the review of life-saving drugs, provides funding to continue researching cures for rare and deadly diseases, and accelerates critical therapies for at-risk patients across the country.

Specifically, by increasing the speed at which cutting edge or experimental drugs are approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the 21st Century Cures Act breaks down the barriers that have prevented millions of Americans from getting the drug and disease treatments their lives depend on.

This means the FDA maintains responsible safety procedures but can avoid so many of the obstacles they face before getting drugs to patients. The bill also seeks to improve the FAA's decision-making process by bringing in patients to share their experiences and help shape the agency's policies going forward.

All new funding in the 21st Century Cures Act will be fully offset with cuts to previously approved spending. Additionally, all programs will be reviewed annually in order to ensure taxpayers are getting the best and most efficient return possible on this investment.

Thousands of the diseases that are currently “incurable” don’t have to stay that way. We have a unique opportunity to bring our healthcare system into the 21st century, and spur cutting-edge medicines and treatments that can save lives. This bill will allow us to do just that.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sam Graves issued the following statement after voting to pass the 21st Century Cures Act. The bill passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 392-26.

"There are 10,000 known diseases, but we only have treatments for 500 of them," Rep Graves said. "The 21st Century Cures Act will give the FDA and the private sector the tools to close this gap, accelerating critical, potentially life-saving therapies for at-risk patients across the country. This bill also includes the most significant reforms to our nation's mental health system in a decade. I'm thrilled that it passed the House, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law in the coming days."

Specifically, 21st Century Cures Act streamlines the review of life-saving drugs, provides money to continue to research cures for diseases, and provides grants for states to supplement opioid abuse prevention and treatment.

By increasing the speed at which cutting edge or experimental drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and increasing fully-offset federal funding for medical research and development, the bill lays the groundwork for medical breakthroughs that will help thousands of Americans suffering from what are currently uncured diseases.

Once this bill is signed into law, the FDA will be able to maintain responsible safety procedures while allowing them to approve those new drugs with minimal obstacles and bureaucracy. A quicker turnaround time from drug development to market availability will allow innovators to develop new and alternative treatments for diseases and drug addictions.

Finally, the bill gives patients the ability to provide their input and experiences to help shape the FDA’s regulatory decision-making process. Patients are also empowered to choose to voluntarily provide hospitals and research institutions with their personal health records for future research.

.Any new funding in the 21st Century Cures Act will be fully offset. Discretionary spending will also be subject to annual review in order to maximize accountability for taxpayers.

Voters sent a message to Washington and elected officials from across the country on November 8. They gave Republicans control of both Houses in Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade.

With that message comes a mandate, a mandate that we replace Obamacare, revitalize the economy, and continue working to shrink annual deficits. Something that goes with each of those principles, and one of the things I am most hopeful to accomplish with a Republican in the White House, is comprehensive tax reform.

Everyone in this country knows that our tax code is time consuming and complex. But small business owners and their employees feel the brunt of this confusion the most. As a farmer, I can’t even begin to count the hours my family spent on compliance. I wish we had that time back to work on the farm.

Our tax code was last reformed over three decades ago. Since then, so much about the way American businesses operate in the U.S. and across the world has changed. An outdated, complex tax code puts our job creators at a disadvantage and hurts the bottom line of every family in this country.

We need a tax code designed for the 21st century - not the 1980s. That’s why tax reform that closes loopholes for special interests, eliminates unfair deductions for specific industries, and removes the IRS’ ability to operate on purely political reasons will be one of my top focuses in the next Congress.

But it’s more than just promises and talking points - a revitalized tax code means something for everyone in the United States. It means businesses can focus on prosperity - not compliance and red tape. It means individuals can complete their taxes alone every year without fear of an audit. And it means our GDP will grow when businesses make decisions based on economics instead of arbitrary guidelines set by the IRS.

But politics is one of the things that has held back tax reform - that’s why it’s so important that everyone is involved in this process, and that real tax reform is completed in the most responsible, fair and transparent manner possible. As such, I encourage you to submit all of your thoughts and ideas on tax reform to a new website I created for this purpose. Find the link for that site here.

This year I'm wrapping up my first term as a member of the House Armed Services Committee. In the committee I’ve had the opportunity to serve as a voice for our veterans, our military men and women, and all of their families.

It is the federal government’s top priority to take care of everyone who’s risked their lives to protect this country. But unfortunately, due to problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Committee has had to work to correct problems that never should have existed in the first place.

The VA Inspector General reported that mismanagement, neglect, and possible criminal activity at VA hospitals is “systemic” throughout the VA hospital system. Some of these issues have tragically caused some veterans to die while literally waiting for the care they needed.

Part of the House’s Better Way agenda is bringing the VA into the 21stcentury, increasing efficiency, changing priorities, and making sure we never hear of stories like these again. Working to reform the VA will be one of the top priorities of Congress with a new Republican administration in the White House.

And I’ve already begun that work. As you may know, the VA recently identified a need for over 26,000 new health care workers. At the same time, the VA says that nearly half of all post-9/11 veterans will face a period of unemployment. This is simply unacceptable, but I believe these are two problems we can address simultaneously. That is why I wrote and introduced the Improving Veterans Access to Quality Care Act.

My bill will give military healthcare workers priority to get jobs in the VA healthcare system, recruiting combat medics straight from active duty service into careers providing healthcare to veterans. As your representative, I will continue working to pass common sense policies like these that ensure veterans get the care they deserve while bringing the VA into the 21st century.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sam Graves issued the following statement after today calling on Congressional leadership to block funding for the Obama administration’s Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule can be defunded in the next congressional spending bill and then permanently repealed with the arrival of a new presidential administration in January.

“The Obama administration rewrote standing law to extend its authority onto farms and private property,” Rep. Graves said. “WOTUS represents everything people distrust and resent about Washington, giving unaccountable bureaucrats the right to tell farmers and property owners how to manage their land. But now, Congress has an opportunity to block funding for the rule and begin reversing all the damage it has done. I look forward to fully repealing WOTUS as we continue this fight alongside the new administration in January.”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: In April of 2014, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jointly released a proposed rule to clarify protection of streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act (CWA), forming WOTUS. The rule was developed without the EPA first consulting state and local authorities, and without realistically examining the potential economic impact on private citizens, farmers, and other stakeholders.

Earlier this year, Graves helped introduce the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act, which requires the EPA to withdraw WOTUS and gather stakeholder input before issuing any new rule. The bill passed the House after the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a report calling WOTUS’ rulemaking process “deeply flawed.”

Election Day should be a time for Americans to celebrate, to reflect on what the right to vote really means for all of us. Regardless of the outcome of any single election, the fact that each of us has a choice, a say on the path our government takes in the future, is something no one in this country should take for granted.

But as consequential as Election Day was, America observed an even more important day last week. Friday was Veterans Day, a time to step back and think about why we are fortunate enough to live in a country that guarantees all of those freedoms.

That process we completed on Tuesday - the democratic election that allowed all of us the opportunity to select the people who represent us in government - you can thank a veteran for that.

You can thank a veteran for the right to freely express yourself in America - the right to protest, the right to free press, and the right to practice whatever religion you want. None of those persists without the men and women who have risked everything to serve and protect the country we love.

We officially honored them for that last Friday, on Veterans Day. But the sacrifices they made for this country affect all of us every day, and we can never forget that.

Last week, 50 million Americans found out their healthcare costs will go up by more than 25% in 2017. Although this is reason to worry for everyone affected, it’s not surprising to anybody who’s paid attention to Obamacare since it became law.

The administration has failed to deliver on so many of the promises President Obama made before Obamacare was pushed through Congress in the middle of the night. You can’t keep the plan you liked. Your healthcare costs haven’t gone down. And you don’t have more options than you did before.

In fact, one third of the country may have just one single healthcare plan to choose from on the Obamacare exchanges next year. That’s 100 million Americans who will be paying more for a plan they are forced to pick.

Competition is one of the keys to affordable, quality health care. But one of the many problems with Obamacare is that the co-ops it established in order to increase competition with insurance companies did just the opposite.

The free market doesn’t work when the government artificially props up businesses that can’t compete on their own. Today, only six of those 23 co-ops are still operating.

This is not how health care should work in America. It was clear to many of us when Obamacare was rushed into law, but it’s even clearer now. It is time to scrap this law and start over with market-driven solutions that rely less on top-down mandates from the federal government and more on honest, transparent reforms that make sense for every American. Please know that I will continue to work towards that goal as your Representative.

Contact Information

Committee Assignments

Congressman Sam Graves is a life long resident of Missouri’s Sixth Congressional District. As a small businessman and a sixth-generation, full-time family farmer, Sam spent his life working to make Missouri a better place to live, work, and raise a family.

In Congress, Sam serves as the Chairman of the Small Business Committee. Small businesses create 7 out of every 10 jobs in this country. It is important that our policies encourage innovators and entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and create jobs. Sam also serves on the Transportation Committee where he continues to fight for Missouri roads, rivers, bridges, rail lines and airports.

Congressman Graves was born in Tarkio, Missouri on November 7, 1963. He graduated from Tarkio High School in 1982 and attended college at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he received his degree in Agronomy from the School of Agriculture.

In 1992, Sam won his first race for State Representative. In 1994, Sam was elected as State Senator for the 12th Senatorial District and was subsequently re-elected in 1998. Sam’s leadership has not only been recognized by his constituents, but from organizations like the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Development Corporation, and the Missouri State Medical Association.

As a father, farmer, businessman, and former State legislator, Sam knows first hand the values, hopes, and beliefs of the hard-working families of the Sixth District, and will continue to work tirelessly for them in theUnited States House of Representatives. As your Congressman, Sam will continue to fight for Missouri families.